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Request for selection
Mr Christopher Leslie
NC12
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Lord Chancellor may make a request to the Commission for a person to be selected for a recommendation to which this section applies.
(2) Before making a request the Lord Chancellor must consult the Lord Chief Justice.
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply where the office of Lord Chief Justice is vacant or where the Lord Chief Justice is incapacitated for the purposes of section (Functions of the Lord Chief Justice during vacancy or incapacity) (functions during vacancy or incapacity).'.
(4) Sections 61 to 66 apply where the Lord Chancellor makes a request under this section.
(5) Those sections are subject to section (Withdrawal and modification of requests) (withdrawal and modification of requests).'.
Duty to fill vacancies (No. 2)
Mr Christopher Leslie
NC13
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Lord Chancellor must make a recommendation to fill any vacancy in the office of Lord Justice of Appeal.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a vacancy while the Lord Chief Justice agrees that it may remain unfilled.'.
Request for selection (No. 2)
Mr Christopher Leslie
NC14
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Lord Chancellor may make a request to the Commission for a person to be selected for a recommendation for appointment as a Lord Justice of Appeal.
(2) Before making a request the Lord Chancellor must consult the Lord Chief Justice.
(3) A request may relate to more than one recommendation.
(4) Sections 68 to 73 apply where the Lord Chancellor makes a request under this section.
(5) Those sections are subject to section (Withdrawal and modification of requests) (withdrawal and modification of requests).'.
Duty to fill vacancies (No. 3)
Mr Christopher Leslie
NC15
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Lord Chancellor must make a recommendation to fill any vacancy in the office of puisne judge of the High Court or in an office listed in Part 1 of Schedule 12.
(2) The Lord Chancellor must make an appointment to fill any vacancy in an office listed in Part 2 or 3 of that Schedule.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a vacancy while the Lord Chief Justice agrees that it may remain unfilled.'.
Request for selection (No. 3)
Mr Christopher Leslie
NC16
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Lord Chancellor may request the Commission to select a person for a recommendation or appointment to which this section applies.
(2) Before making a request the Lord Chancellor must consult the Lord Chief Justice.
(3) A request may relate to more than one recommendation or appointment.
(4) Sections 76 to 81 apply where the Lord Chancellor makes a request under this section.
(5) Those sections are subject to section (Withdrawal and modification of requests) (withdrawal and modification of requests).'.
Duty to identify persons for future requests
Mr Christopher Leslie
NC17
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) If the Lord Chancellor gives the Commission notice of a request he expects to make under section (Request for selection (No. 3)) the Commission must—
| (a) | seek to identify persons it considers would be suitable for selection on the request, and |
| (b) | submit a report to the Lord Chancellor containing any information it considers appropriate about— |
| (i) | the extent to which it has identified suitable persons, and |
| (ii) | other matters likely to assist the Lord Chancellor in exercising his functions relating to appointments and recommendations. |
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a) and (b)(ii), the Commission must in particular have regard to—
| (a) | the number of recommendations and appointments the Lord Chancellor expects to request selections for; |
| (b) | the powers of the Lord Chancellor to reject or require reconsideration of a selection. |
(3) As part of the process of identifying persons under subsection (1)(a), the Commission must consult—
| (a) | the Lord Chief Justice, and |
| (b) | a person or persons, other than the Lord Chief Justice, with experience in the office or offices to which requests specified in the direction relate, or with other relevant experience. |
(4) A report under subsection (1)(b) must—
| (a) | state any recommendation made in consultation under subsection (3) by a person consulted; |
| (b) | give reasons in any case where the Commission has not followed such a recommendation. |
(5) Where the LordChancellor makes a request for the purposes of which the Commission has identified persons under subsection (1)(a), the Commission must, in determining the selection process to be applied, consider whether selection should be from among those persons.'.
Withdrawal and modification of requests
Mr Christopher Leslie
NC18
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) This section applies to a request under section (Request for selection), (Request for selection (No. 2)) or (Request for selection (No. 3)).
(2) The Lord Chancellor may withdraw or modify a request only as follows—
| (a) | so far as a request relates to any recommendation or appointment to fill a vacancy, he may withdraw or modify it with the agreement of the Lord Chief Justice; |
| (b) | so far as a request relates to any recommendation or appointment otherwise than to fill a vacancy, he may withdraw or modify it after consulting the Lord Chief Justice; |
| (c) | he may withdraw a request as respects all recommendations or appointments to which it relates if, after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, he considers the selection process determined by the Commission or selection panel is not satisfactory, or has not been applied satisfactorily. |
(3) If a request is withdrawn in part or modified, the Commission or selection panel may, if it thinks it appropriate because of the withdrawal or modification, change any selection already made pursuant to the request, except a selection already accepted.
(4) The Lord Chancellor may not withdraw a request under subsection (2)(c) if he has exercised any of his powers under section 64(2), 71(2) or 78(2) in relation to a selection made pursuant to the request.
(5) Any withdrawal or modification of a request must be by notice in writing to the Commission.
(6) The notice of withdrawal must state whether the withdrawal or modification is under subsection (2)(a), (b) or (c).
(7) In the case of a withdrawal under subsection (2)(c), the notice must state why the Lord Chancellor considers the selection process determined by the Commission or selection panel is not satisfactory, or has not been applied satisfactorily.
(8) If or to the extent that a request is withdrawn—
| (a) | the preceding provisions of this Part cease to apply in relation to it, and |
| (b) | any selection made on it is to be disregarded. |
(9) Withdrawal ofa request to any extent does not affect the power of the Lord Chancellor to make another request in the same or different terms.'.
Effect of acceptance of selection
Mr Christopher Leslie
NC19
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) This section applies where the Lord Chancellor accepts a selection under this Chapter.
(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the Lord Chancellor—
| (a) | must make the appointment, or recommendation, for which the selection has been made, and |
| (b) | must appoint, or recommend, the person selected. |
(3) Before making the appointment or recommendation the Lord Chancellor may direct the Commission to make arrangements in accordance with the direction—
| (a) | for any assessment of the health of the person selected that the Lord Chancellor considers appropriate, and |
| (b) | for a report of the assessment to be made to the Lord Chancellor. |
(4) Subsection (5) applies in any of the following circumstances—
| (a) | the Lord Chancellor notifies the Commission that he is not satisfied on the basis of a report under subsection (3)(b), having consulted the Lord Chief Justice, that the health of the person selected is satisfactory for the purposes of the appointment or recommendation; |
| (b) | the person selected declines to be appointed or recommended, or does not agree within a time specified to him for that purpose; |
| (c) | the person selected is otherwise not available within a reasonable time to be appointed or recommended. |
(5) Where this subsection applies—
| (a) | the selection accepted and any previous selection for the same appointment or recommendation are to be disregarded; |
| (b) | the request pursuant to which the selection was made continues to have effect; |
| (c) | any subsequent selection pursuant to that request may be made in accordance with the same or a different selection process.'. |
Applications to the Ombudsman
Mr Christopher Leslie
NC21
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) This section applies if an interested party makes an application to the Ombudsman for the review of the exercise by any person of a regulated disciplinary function, on the grounds that there has been—
| (a) | a failure to comply with prescribed procedures, or |
| (b) | some other maladministration. |
(2) The Ombudsman mustcarry out a review if the following three conditions are met.
(3) The first condition is that the Ombudsman considers that a review is necessary.
(4) The second condition is that—
| (a) | the application is made within the permitted period, |
| (b) | the application is made within such longer period as the Ombudsman considers appropriate in the circumstances, or |
| (c) | the application is made on grounds alleging undue delay and the Ombudsman considers that the application has been made within a reasonable time. |
(5) The third condition is that the application is made in a form approved by the Ombudsman.
(6) But the Ombudsman may not review the merits of a decision made by any person.
(7) If any of the conditions in subsections (3) to (5) is not met, or if the grounds of the application relate only to the merits of a decision, the Ombudsman—
| (a) | may not carry out a review, and |
| (b) | must inform the applicant accordingly. |
(8) In this section and sections (Review by the Ombudsman) to (References to the Ombudsman relating to conduct), "regulated disciplinary function" means any of the following—
| (a) | any function of the Lord Chancellor that falls within section 94(1); |
| (b) | any function conferred on the Lord Chief Justice by section 94(3) to (7); |
| (c) | any function exercised under prescribed procedures in connection with a function falling within paragraph (a) or (b). |
(9) In this section, in relation to an application under this section for a review of the exercise of a regulated disciplinary function—
"interested party" means—
(a) the judicial office holder in relation to whose conduct the function is exercised, or
(b) any person who has made a complaint about that conduct in accordance with prescribed procedures;
"permitted period" means the period of 28 days beginning with the latest of—
(c) the failure or other maladministration alleged by the applicant;
(d) where that failure or maladministration occurred in the course of an investigation, the applicant being notified of the conclusion or other termination of that investigation;
(e) where that failure or maladministration occurred in the course of making a determination, the applicant being notified of that determination.
(10) References in this section and section (Review by the Ombudsman) to theexercise of a function include references to a decision whether or not to exercise the function.'.
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